Ellen Insists She's Not Racist After Controversial Bolt Tweet

Ellen DeGeneres is in hot water after tweeting a photo Monday showing her riding on the back of Usain Bolt. The photo of the Jamaican sprinter grinning back at his competitors as he won gold in the 100-meter dash in the Rio Olympics quickly got turned into quite a few memes. But DeGeneres' version of the meme, which showed her on Bolt's back along with the caption, "This is how I’m running errands from now on," quickly became controversial as some slammed it for being racist.

"You found it appropriate to post a meme of you riding a Black dude like Ms. Daisy," tweeted one critic, per Mashable. On Tuesday, DeGeneres responded to the controversy, the AP reports. "I am highly aware of the racism that exists in our country. It is the furthest thing from who I am," she tweeted. It wasn't enough for some critics, who replied with anger that she hadn't actually apologized and was only worried about "preserving [her] image." (More Ellen DeGeneres stories.)